ELSEWHERE IN SCIENCE

Aditi Kallanagoudar Gris Science and Tech Editor

The Chinese Mars Rover, Zhurong has recently discovered traces of salt water flows on the Red Planet.The traces of salt water flows on Mars, suggest that liquid water may still exist on the planet’s surface as the data collected by the rover indicates that these traces date back only 0.4 to 1.4 million years ago, which is fairly recent in astronomical terms.

The information gathered by the spacecraft has proved beyond a doubt that Mars was once a vastly dissimilar planet from the parched red desert we know today. In the remote past, rivers coursed across its surface, and permanent lakes left behind potent traces of sedimentary deposits. However, over time, Mars underwent an apocalyptic transformation, losing most of its atmosphere and, consequently, its water. Scientists now hypothesise that the remains of the planet’s water can be found in the form of frozen deposits which are primarily concentrated beneath the poles of the planet. This astonishing revelation has opened up new avenues of exploration and investigation into the planet’s intriguing past Simultaneously, climate models suggest that in specific conditions, liquid water may emerge on certain regions of the Martian terrain. However, scientists lacked empirical confirmation of this notion until recently. Nevertheless, this newly acquired data has the potential to compel the scientific community to reassess their stance on the matter.

In fact, in a recent edition of the journal Science Advances, a group of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences lead by Professor Qin Xiaoguang from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics (IGG) published an article detailing the evidence of water on dune surfaces of Mars with data from the rover providing concrete observational proof of liquid water at low Martian latitudes.

As the rover traversed the Utopia plain, it encountered a number of dunes displaying a crescent-shaped morphology, sculpted by the wind. The dunes were sometimes encrusted with a brilliant crust and a characteristic network of cracks. Spectral analysis of the crust revealed the presence of minerals linked to solar water. Furthermore, in the vicinity of one of these dunes, the rover detected a slender strip-like impression, measuring over 40 cm in length and 1.5 cm in width. science@gairrhydd.com

As per the researchers, these traces discovered by the Zhurong rover were shaped by liquid water that streamed between 0.4 and 1.4 million years ago. Presumably, the water was created by the thawing of frost or snow. This discovery is groundbreaking, as it indicates the potential presence of water and liquid water on Mars even today. This, in turn, has the potential to impact existing estimates of the likelihood of the existence of life on the Red Planet.

“This is important for understanding the evolutionary history of the Martian climate, looking for a habitable environment, and providing key clues for the future search for life,” says Professor Qin.

FDA vs Judges on Birth Control

Stephanie Pfiffner Contributor

On Friday April 21st, the Supreme Court went ahead and temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that had placed significant restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone. ‘As a result of the Supreme Court’s stay, mifepristone remains available and approved for safe and effective use while we continue this fight in the courts,’ Biden explained in a statement. ‘The stakes could not be higher for women across America. I will continue to fight political driven attacks on women’s health.’

The Justices granted emergency requests by the justice department and the pill’s manufacturer, Danco Labora- tories, to prevent a preliminary injunction issued by federal judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, in Texas. This ruling would drastically limit the availability of the medication as legal action proceeds in a challenge by anti-abortion groups.

Matthew Kacsmaryk first ruled in the lawsuit initiated by a coalition of antiabortion groups to suspend the FDA’s longstanding authorization of mifepristone completely, claiming the agency wrongly approved the drug: a conservative Christian legal group argued that the Food and Drug Administration improperly approved mifepristone more than 23 years ago. Following the Biden administration’s defense in the fifth circuit court of appeals, a divided threejudge panel declared the drug’s approval will stand yet imposed restrictions on the prescription, limiting its use to seven weeks of pregnancy instead of the cur- rent 10-week limit as well as banning the pill via mail delivery. Responding to this outcome, Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to halt the restrictions imposed and as a result, the access to mifepristone stayed unaltered.

The Biden administration persistently defended the FDA against the charge, emphasizing its rigorous safety reviews of the drug and warned of potential chaos if plaintiffs and judges who are not well versed in scientific and medical arguments start to undermine the agency’s decision-making. Both Biden administration and pharmaceutical suggested that, should the Supreme Court allow the restrictions on access to mifepristone, it will result in chaos.

‘If this decision stands, no medication – from chemotherapy drugs to asthma medicine, to blood pressure pills, to insulin – would be safe from attacks,’ US

Vice-President, Kamala Harris, claims in a statement responding to the appellate decision and following President Biden’s written statement about the danger of giving power to these political and ideological attacks on prescription.

Having the Biden administration ask the Supreme Court to intervene before restrictions fall into place gives increasing political significance in the latest fierce legal battle over reproductive rights in the US. The Supreme Court’s decision comes at a pivotal point in the polarizing divide of the abortion rights case following the overturning of Roe v Wade last year.

This ruling would drastically limit the availability of the medication.”

Source: RawPixel